Combination electric musical instrument



s June 2, 1942. P, WEATHERS ETAL 2,285,132

3 nnentors j] Gttrneg Patented June 2, 1942 COMBINATION ELECTRIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Paul Weathers, Audubon, and William L. Rothenberger, Merchantville, N. J., assignors to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application April 20, 1938, Serial No. 203,014

(ci. sri-1.27)

` 3 Claims.

' This invention relates to a combination elecytric musical instrument, and more particularly to a combination of a piano, a radio set and a phonograph. In the apparatus, the several instruments are so combined as to have a common sound ieproducer, a common audio amplier, common power supply insofar as it is necessary, and appropriate interlocking control so that the instruments may be used simultaneously in such combination as may be desirable.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved combination of piano, radio set' and phonograph.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and compact combined musical instrunient.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved and inexpensive combination of the three aforesaid instruments.

Another object of the invention is to provide an appropriate instrument `for practice or instruction whereby a person may play the piano with the radio set or phonograph.

Other and incidental objects of our invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification and an inspection of the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the combinedv instrument, and

Figure 2 is a schematic wiring diagram thereof.

Referring first to Fig. l, the instrument is provided with an appropriate casing I which housed the entire mechanism, the phonograph being housed in the upper portion of the casing, as indicated at II, and the radio set being housed in another part of the upper portion of the casing, as indicated at I2, the tuning dial thereof appearing at I3. The piano mechanism is housed in the lower portion of the casing, and the keyboard thereof extends therefrom at the appropriate height, as indicated at I4. Tuning knobs and other appropriate controls for the radio set are indicated at I5. The volume control, tone control and other control knobs of the piano are indicated at I6. Thevolume control knob of the phonograph is indicated at I1. Appropriate loudspeakers I8 may be mounted in the lower part of the cabinet and the pedals for the piano are located in their usual position, I9 indicating the loud pedal, 2|) indicating the soft pedal, and 2| indicating the amplification control pedal described in more detail hereinafter. Referring now to Fig. 2, an appropriate power supply Aunit 22 is provided which includes the usual transformers, rectifers, filters, and voltage dividers if necessary. Power from this power supply is transmitted to the audio amplifier 23 which is used in connection with all three of the music producing devices, and power is also transmitted to the radio tuner and detector I2 which may be of any conventional type, although we prefer to use the type of radio receiver known as the superheterodyne. The phonograph II is provided with an appropriate pickup 24, which is illustrated as being of the electromagnetic type, although any other type of electric pickup, such as electrostaticvor piezoelectric, may be used if desired, and the output from this phonograph or from the radio set is transmitted selectively through the switch 25 to the audio amplifier. It should be noted that this switch 25 is so connected that either the phonograph or the radio set, or neither, may be connected to the audio amplifier. The output from the piano is connected to a switch 26 which has only the on and off positions. switches, the piano may be connected alone to the audio amplifier and speakers, or it may be connected to the audio amplier simultaneously with either thel radio set or the phonograph, so that the piano may be played along with appropriate programs from either of the other sources.

In the piano itself the treble pickups are indicated at 21 and the bass pickups at 28, these being indicated as electromagnetic pickups, al-

though, if desired, electrostatic or piezoelectric pickups may be used.' The tone control 29 permits controlling the tone of the treble section of the instrument, while the treble volume control 30 and the bass vvolume control 3I control the total volume from the respective sections of the instrument. The master volume control 32, which, like the volume controls 30 and 3|, is made in the form of a T-pad, controls the overall volume output. This master volume control, however, is supplemented by the pedal volume control 2I which controls the overall volume of the instrument in response to the operation of the corresponding pedal. It will be noted from the circuit shown in Fig. 2 that when the manual volume control 32 is turned to its maximum positionY the pedal volume control has no further effect while if the manual volume control is-turned to its minimum position the pedal volume control can increase the volume up to the maximum and the two volume controls thus supplement each other. The volume controls 30,

Due to this arrangement of 3| and 32 are located on the knobs I6 in any desired sequence. 1

The upper portion of the cabinet 33 stands on the, lower portion Il at the dividing line 34 and may be bodily removed therefrom if maior yrepairs or alterations are to be made on either the radio set, the phonograph or the piano. Likewise, if desired,lthis entire upper portion of the cabine Amayy be removed andan appropriate cover may'be substituted," leaving the@ apparatus as an electric piano without the auxu iliary devices.

It should'be noted that only a single power supply unit is provided, and this unit provides power for appropriate voltages and currents for the radio set and the audio amplifier; In addition to this, if electrostatic pickups' are `used for the piano, appropriate potentials for these pick.-

ups are provided from the same power supply unit, and if a type of pickup is used on the phonograph which has an appropriate power supply or biasing voltage, this is likewise provided from If the loudspeaker. or loudspeakers are of such a type as to' requirejfi field exciting current, this likewise may be sup the single vpower Supply unit.

plied-from the common power supply.

Having now described our invention, we claim: l. In an electric piano, acoustical electric translating means, an audio amplifier connected v to said translating means, a loudspeaker .,con-

nected to` said amplifier, manually controlled means independent of the pianomechanism for regulating the volume from all of said translating means, and pedal control means independent `of the piano mechanism and supplemental to"Y said manually controlled means for regulating the volume from all of said translating means over the range between the maximum forwhich the manual volume control is set .to the maximum output of said translating'means.

2. In an electric plano, acoustical-electric translating means for the individual notes, an

i audio amplier, means independent 'of the piano means, a loudspeaker connected to said amplier, manually controlled means independent of the piano mechanism for regulating the volume from all of said translating meansfgy'jand pedal control means independent` of thepiano mech-- anism and supplemental to said manually controlled Imeans for regulating the volume from all of said Atranslating means over the range between theiniaximumA for which the manual volume control is set to the maximum output oi said translating means.

PAUL` WEATHERS. WILLIAM L. ROFI'HENBERGER. 

